Category: Uncategorized

Building a Sidewinder / Gemini rebreather clone

macado

I suppose I should start this post off with a bit of a disclaimer. Rebreathers are dangerous and can kill you without proper training, discipline and understanding. Don’t build or modify a rebreather unless you have a proper understanding of all the concepts behind everything you’re doing, even then things can still go wrong. Always know your ppO2. If you’re not sure or something doesnt feel right then there is no harm in bailing out. Plenty of really smart (and unquestionably stupid) people have died because they thought they knew…

Friday the 13th Dive Shenanigans: A Night DPV dive to the OJ Walker in Lake Champlain

macado

Unfortunately my regular dive buddy John decided to abandon me and move to bum-fuck Tennessee. As a result we haven’t gotten any dives in together this year. I don’t blame him (ok only a little bit); The weather is warmer in Tennessee and I’m sure the cost of living is much better than New England / New York. Anyway he still does National Guard in Vermont and flew back this past weekend. We had talked about getting in a dive together when he was here but unfortunately it would have…

New content coming soon for 2019

macado

I haven’t really been updating this blog but I am going to try to start adding some new content, DIY articles and reviews shortly. Last fall in early November, I switched over to a ScubaForce SF2 rebreather.  I have been diving it all winter, taken 2 trips to Florida (Cave Country) and another trip to Missouri to dive some mines with the unit, in addition to some local diving.  I just broke 100 hours / 6 months on the unit and hope to write about my transition from the rEvo…

Peirce Island Exploration Dive

macado

Due to the massive construction project that has been going on at Peirce Island I have not been able to dive one of my favorite winter shore diving sites for nudibranch photography.  This has led me to research other possible entry points or dive sites in the Picataqua River.  I’ve only explored a couple areas so far and while I haven’t found anything similar to the massive hydroid field at Peirce, I have managed to find some cool bottles so that has been an added bonus. Since I knew the…

London Calling: Onward to Inverness, Scotland and almost missing my flight.

macado

Some last minute packing for Scapa Flow forced me to switch suitcases. The zipper on my big suitcase broke completely and I was going to have to split up into multiple smaller bags. Luckily I had a friend who let me borrow one of their large suitcases. Problem solved.  I am still bringing the same amount of checked bags but thankfully I have a little more wiggle room for souvenirs and a shitty re-packing job that I usually do.  It’s amazing how hard it is to re-pack bags exactly how…

Trip Report: Wreck of the Northern Light & Duane with Horizon Divers

macado
Stern of Northern Light

Arrived at Horizon Divers in the morning at 8am to check-in for Northern Light dive and grab my rental tanks.  I was pleasantly surprised to see my friend Doug at dive shop; He was completing his open circuit trimix class with Dan at Horizon Divers.  Since I was unfamiliar with this wreck I would be tagging along with his group while they did their class. As such it was a shorter runtime. We planned a 25 minute or so bottom time with a total runtime of around 65 minutes due some gas constraints…

The legend of the internet diver

macado

You’ve probably encountered this person online somewhere, mostly likely on Facebook or one of the numerous SCUBA forums out there.  Perhaps you’ve caught a rare glimpse of them at a dive shop or even struck up a conversation with them in the wild.    They may well even be an “advanced technical diver” or “experienced SCUBA instructor.”  Their title and knowledge has no boundaries just like their ego. Regardless, the last place you will catch these people are actually on a fucking dive boat or a shore dive..  They’ll often…